Neighbouring Sounds

Tuesday 29 August at 7pm
The Elizabeth Picture Theatre

Neighbouring Sounds, Kleber Mendonça Filho, 2012, 131m
Life in a middle-class neighbourhood in present day Recife, Brazil, takes an unexpected turn after the arrival of an independent private security firm. The presence of these men brings a sense of safety and a good deal of anxiety to a culture which runs on fear. Meanwhile, Bia, married and mother of two, must find a way to deal with the constant barking and howling of her neighbour’s dog. A slice of ‘Braziliana’, a reflection on history, violence and noise.
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s startling feature debut reveals a number of his ongoing concerns: a seamless blend of genre and arthouse film tactics (in this case producing a slowburn thriller) used to study the northern city of Recife and how its history inexorably shapes contemporary race and class relations. A study of a street and a study of a family. A study of a city and a study of a country.

Unrated 15+
With thanks to CinemaScópio

Part of our gradual Kleber Mendonça Filho retrospective.